Whitecaps’ to-do list for 2014

Gary Kingston, Vancouver Sun10.25.2013

All talk of where the Vancouver Whitecaps go from here, after missing out on a playoff spot in Major League Soccer, starts with the future of head coach Martin Rennie, and the growing likelihood that he won't be back for the franchise's fourth season in MLS. For other pivotal figures for the Caps heading forward, click on NEXT tab above the photo (if you're on a desktop computer).Gerry Kahrmann Gerry Kahrmann
/ PNG

Vancouver Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi (above) signalled management’s intentions when he said this week that the club had stagnated despite having 'enough pieces to get it done.' That doesn't sound good for head coach Martin Rennie and his staff.Mark van Manen
/ PNG

Daigo Kobayashi, a relatively high-profile signing out of the Japanese League, was not the consistent attacking midfielder as advertised.Gerry Kahrmann, Png Files
/ Vancouver Sun

Canadian Russell Teibert was a mid-season revelation for the Vancouver Whitecaps, but he fell out of favour in the stretch run and found it hard getting playing time.DARRYL DYCK
/ THE CANADIAN PRESS

Big things were expected out of midfielder Gershon Koffie, who got a healthy raise in signing a contract extension last spring. But his play regressed as the MLS season went along.Gerry Kahrmann
/ Postmedia News

Trinidadian international Carlyle Mitchell, at 26, had a breakout season for the Vancouver Whitecaps after starting his season with lower-tier Edmonton FC due to the log jam at his centre-back position. With injuries taking their toll on the stocks of the Caps' central defence, Mitchell got a reprieve and he went on to become the MLS team's unsung player of the season.Arlen Redekop
/ PNG files

Centre back and Honduran international Johnny Leveron , at age 23, is a big part of the Vancouver Whitecaps' future.Gerry Kahrmann
/ PNG

Vancouver Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit, at age 34 and with some serious, long-term injuries that have limited his appearances in the last three seasons, will likely have to take a pay cut from the $375,000 he made in 2013, a negotiation that won’t be easy.Ric Ernst
/ PNG

The Vancouver Whitecaps will miss the leadership and sheer skill of veteran ex-Korean international Y.P. Lee at right fullback next season. Lee is retiring as a player and will join the Caps' front office next season.Victor Decolongon
/ Getty Images

Jordan Harvey was a steady presence at left fullback for the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2013, scoring a career-high four goals, but the team's defensive letdown later in the season came on his watch.Mark van Manen
/ PNG files

Remember this guy? Striker Eric Hassli was popular during his tenure with the Vancouver Whitecaps, and while his trade to Toronto FC in 2012 didn't meet with approval in all Vancouver soccer circles, it did fetch what will be either the second or third overall pick in next year's MLS SuperDraft, depending on where Toronto FC finishes in the final standings.Rich Lam
/ Getty Images

Vancouver Whitecaps forward Kekuta Manneh (in white) showed remarkable progress for an 18-year-old in his rookie season in Major League Soccer. Manneh was picked fourth overall in this year's MLS SuperDraft.Ric Ernst
/ PNG

Vancouver Whitecaps forward Erik Hurtado (left), taken fifth overall in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, showed in his rookie season that pace without touch doesn’t make a pro player.DARRYL DYCK
/ THE CANADIAN PRESS

Omar Salgado, the first overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, has been plagued by injury with three foot surgeries in the last year and zero games played in 2013.Arlen Redekop
/ PNG

Vancouver Whitecaps striker Darren Mattocks, the team's first pick (second overall) in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, scored just three goals in 19 games (eight starts) this season.The Canadian Press files
/ The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — I’ve never been great with to-do lists. Being remarkably forgetful, too often uncommitted to the process and an unrepentant procrastinator probably has something to do with that.

So, when the sports editor suggested we produce a to-do list for the Vancouver Whitecaps to coincide with Sunday’s end of the MLS regular-season, it seemed prudent to investigate how to make such a list easier for Caps’ ownership and president Bob Lenarduzzi to adhere to, should they take our advice.

As workawesome.com notes, to-do lists haven’t evolved much since early man scratched Make Fire, Find Food and Don’t Get Eaten on his cave wall. But its suggestions for effective lists include such things as colour-coded prioritization, not cluttering your list with mundane tasks or superfluous micro-tasks to create a false sense of headway and using action verbs like decide, finish and complete while steering clear of terms such start or investigate.

With that preamble out of the way, and the knowledge that the editor tightened my space at noon on Friday, here’s a condensed must-do list the Caps should have pinned to the office wall on Monday:

• DECIDE ON A COACH: Yes, they have one under contract for 2014 in Martin Rennie. But it seems increasingly obvious that after missing the playoffs this season, the young Scotsman won’t get a third season at the helm of the club.

Sure, the Caps won Pacific Northwest bragging rights for the first time, winning the season series with the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers, but they failed again to win the Canadian championship and, with only Sunday’s clash with Colorado remaining, have won just five of 23 games against teams in their own conference.

Lenarduzzi basically signalled management’s intentions when he said this week that the club had stagnated despite having “enough pieces to get it done.” Just two wins over the last 10 games and a 1-3-2 stretch at home were death knells for playoff hopes.

Rennie and his staff whiffed on Japanese League veteran Daigo Kobayashi as someone who could be a consistent attacking midfielder. After breaking down and rebuilding young Canadian winger Russell Teibert into a mid-season force, they couldn’t find a role for him down the stretch. And both Darren Mattocks and Gershon Koffie, thought to be emerging stars, regressed this season.

Rennie admitted it was a steep learning curve for him in a league he calls “unique.” That’s why it’s imperative the Caps replace him with someone with significant MLS experience, be that the available Frank Yallop or someone else.

• RE-SIGN DeMERIT: The Caps have got two promising young centre backs in Honduran international Johnny Leveron, 23, and Trinidadian international Carlyle Mitchell, 26. And earlier this season, they re-signed veteran Andy O’Brien, who was a stalwart for much of the season until leg injuries curtailed his campaign.

But captain Jay DeMerit, as he proved the last five weeks after coming back from a potentially season-ending Achilles tendon rupture, brings a physical presence and steadying leadership.

The 34-year-old will likely have to take a pay cut from the $375,000 he made this season, a negotiation that won’t be easy, but he needs to be back.

• FIND AN ATTACKING MIDFIELDER: The lack of a true creative playmaker in the middle of the park was a glaring need all season. Winger Russell Teibert was the Caps’ leading assist man with eight, but six of them came in a four-game stretch in mid-season and he finished the campaign on the bench.

The technically gifted Kobayashi offered only occasional glimpses of his talent, but not enough to be relied on for 2014.

• REPLENISH AT FULLBACK: Right back is Y.P. Lee is retiring and while his level of play dropped off from his 2012 season, it still leaves a big hole, with no obvious replacement on the roster. Jordan Harvey was a steady presence at left back and chipped in a career-high four goals, but he was also part of a defensive group whose inconsistency cost the Caps several times.

With more MLS teams finding players with pace to play up front, it’s crucial that the Caps find some fullbacks, both as starters and reserves, who can match that speed.

• DRAFT A STARTER: The Caps will have the second or third pick overall in January’s MLS SuperDraft, a selection acquired from sad-sack Toronto in last season’s Eric Hassli trade, and their own selection at either fifth or sixth, so coming out of with at least one player capable of making an impact is essential.

Vancouver’s doesn’t have a great draft record in its short MLS history. In 2013, they made speed a big priority and appear to have themselves a winner in 18-year-old forward Kekuta Manneh, who was taken fourth overall. But fifth overall selection Erik Hurtado has shown that pace without touch doesn’t make a pro player.

Omar Salgado, the first overall pick in 2011, has been plagued by injury with three foot surgeries in the last year and zero games played in 2013. And striker Darren Mattocks, their first pick in 2012, scored just three goals in 19 games (eight starts) this season and, from all indications, isn’t the most coachable of players.

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